. . .
However precise the weapons, careful the planners and skilled the fighters, war inevitably includes mistakes that kill civilians. Leaders need to be honest that there is no such thing as antiseptic combat, while Americans need to understand the full cost and consequences of military actions undertaken in their names.
These are not idle concerns. The pace of attacks and civilian casualties seems to be rising, and with them the potential for alienating the very people America hopes to save. The anti-ISIS fight has quickened and moved into crowded cities, but the president has also given field commanders more authority to make battlefield decisions in an ill-defined hunt for terrorists.
Civilian deaths impose another penalty. They become a recruiting tool for terrorists and undermine counterterrorism operations. It’s up to Congress to ensure true accountability and transparency, if the administration does not, by holding hearings and demanding answers.
